The present invention relates to electrical connectors; and more particularly, the invention relates to electrical connectors of the type used to connect conductive leads intended to carry electrical data signals, as distinguished from connectors designed to carry, for example, electrical power. Of particular interest are electrical data signal connectors of the type widely used to interface with the xe2x80x9cEthernetxe2x80x9d communications network and the Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector, both of which are in widespread use in offices and other sites, but not in industrial applications such as manufacturing plants. These connectors are characterized as having a plurality of connector elements arranged side-by-side and parallel to one another, as in the case of Ethernet, or in a rectangular pattern for the US connector. Hence, the connector elements are arranged in a line or plane transverse of the direction of elongation of the associated conductor leads, and these types of connectors are referred to herein as data signal connectors.
Conventional data signal connectors of the type described above and in connection with which the present invention is concerned, are not manufactured to meet the more rigorous conditions of use normally found in industrial applicationsxe2x80x94that is, for use in factories and other manufacturing facilities. Typically, such data signal connectors are used in residential, office, or other commercial applications where they were not normally subjected to being twisted, pulled and stepped on, as might typically occur in an industrial environment, such as an automated manufacturing facility. As the use of electronics and computer-centered automation control systems have entered the manufacturing environment, the use of office communications networks has greatly expanded into the workplace. This has created a need for a more industrialized data signal connector for communications networks, capable of meeting the standard electrical specifications for existing non-industrial data signal connectors, yet rugged enough to withstand the rigors of an industrial environment.
The present invention is illustrated in the context of two widely used and accepted multiple-lead connectors known as an RJ45 connector and a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector. RJ45 connectors are well known in the industry and used in Ethernet networks. These connectors have been used widely for connecting multiple-lead cable assemblies to equipment, specifically to printed circuit boards mounted within equipment cabinets. RJ45 connectors are used for parallel data bus systems. US connectors are also well known for non-industrial serial data transmission networks and systems.
The present invention provides a partial sub-mold or core mold formed directly around a portion of the body of the data signal connector, but free of the contact elements. The core mold may have general circular symmetry, and its purpose is to provide a rigid housing for and mechanical stability to the insulating body or casing of the data signal connector. The core mold forms a flange for receiving a threaded coupling nut and it also extends over the insulating jacket of a multiple-lead cable, the leads of which are connected to the individual contact elements of the data signal connector.
An insulating, flexible overmold is then formed about the cable and the proximal portion of the core mold. The overmold provides a seal as well as further mechanical strength and stability and strain relief to the region of joinder between the cable and the core mold to reduce the stress or strain that might otherwise be transmitted to the juncture between the leads and the electrical contacts. Thus, the protective core mold and overmold provide greater strength, reliability and protection for data signal connectors, and permit the conventional, non-industrialized data signal connector and multiple lead cable assembly to possess the ruggedness and reliability required for industrial use.